Hundreds of flights out and in of the U.S. have been canceled this week as Hurricane Milton barreled into the Gulf of Mexico and plowed throughout Florida — inflicting many airports to shut their doorways within the path of destruction.
And airways throughout the nation grounded flights consequently. There have been greater than 2,250 U.S. flight cancellations as of noon Thursday, in accordance with monitoring service FlightAware, following 1,970 on Wednesday.
After battering the southeastern U.S. and elements of Cuba Wednesday, the hurricane moved into the Atlantic Ocean Thursday. Risks nonetheless persist — with officers pointing to storm-surge warnings for a lot of Florida’s east-central coast and farther north into Georgia, for instance, in addition to tropical storm warnings reaching South Carolina. Which means journey disruptions throughout the area will doubtless proceed.
Airways can’t management the climate, however they’re nonetheless required to offer refunds for purchasers whose flights are canceled. Earlier this week, President Joe Biden and different authorities officers additionally warned corporations to not overcharge folks fleeing the storm — as some vacationers reported unusually excessive costs — however airways defended themselves, with some noting they’d lately imposed fare caps.
Right here’s what to learn about your rights, and what to do when cancellations begin piling up.
Watch the climate and verify your flight earlier than heading out
The widespread injury of Hurricane Milton, which arrives because the area is already reeling from Hurricane Helene, remains to be being assessed. And, once more, storm-surge warnings continued to be in place on Thursday.
Watching climate forecasts and checking your flight’s standing forward of time is essential. In latest days, many airports in Florida ceased industrial operations — with Orlando Worldwide Airport and Tampa Worldwide Airport, for instance, each remaining closed to the general public Thursday.
Whereas each airports mentioned they have been assessing injury and hoped to offer an replace quickly, Orlando and Tampa nonetheless noticed the biggest variety of cancellations on Thursday, per Flight Conscious. And other people at the moment within the area have been instructed to remain inside and shelter in place till officers say it’s protected.
“If you’re traveling out of Florida, please do not head to the airport unless that airport is open and it’s safe to drive there,” the U.S. Transportation Safety Administration wrote Thursday on social media platform X. “Always check with your airline(s) to verify flight status.”
Whereas Florida has been hit hardest by Milton, journey disruptions unfold throughout the nation. For these not within the storm’s path, some may be capable of reroute their journeys — however capability will likely be restricted. And it’s higher to be caught at dwelling or in a lodge than to be stranded in an airport terminal, so use the airline’s app or flight web sites to make it possible for your flight remains to be on earlier than heading out. Carriers attempt to cancel flights hours and even days earlier than departure.
And with practically two months of Atlantic hurricane season left to go, it’s doable that we might see different extreme storms within the close to future. Keep watch over climate forecasts main as much as your journey.
Contact your airline
Airways ought to rebook passengers routinely, however that might take for much longer as carriers recuperate from the hurricane, so passengers might must take extra initiative. And be extra artistic.
Individuals already at an airport normally go to an in-person assist desk — however strains are lengthy when there’s widespread disruptions. Journey specialists recommend calling the airline and utilizing a global help-desk quantity, if there may be one, to achieve an agent extra shortly.
One other tactic is to put up a couple of phrases to the airline on the social platform X. Many airways have staffers who will assist rebook passengers who contact the service by way of social media.
Use your airline’s app — it might have more-current details about flight standing than delays and cancellations displayed within the airport terminal.
Can I ask to be booked on one other airline?
You’ll be able to, however airways aren’t required to place you on one other service’s flight. Some airways, together with the most important ones besides Southwest, say they’ll get you to a companion airline, however even then it’s usually hit and miss.
tip is to analysis different flights when you wait to speak to an agent. It could even be price checking close by airports for different routes.
Can I get a refund?
Passengers whose flights are canceled are entitled to a full refund within the type of fee they used to purchase the ticket. That’s true even when the ticket was bought as non-refundable.
A refund could also be acceptable to vacationers who not wish to make the journey, however many individuals simply need one other strategy to attain their vacation spot, and shopping for a last-minute alternative ticket might value greater than the refund will cowl.
Am I eligible for different value reimbursements?
There is no such thing as a provision for added compensation underneath U.S. legislation, and airways set their very own insurance policies for reimbursing stranded vacationers for issues like motels and meals.
Nonetheless, the Biden-Harris administration has been working to alter that — and in different latest moments of widespread journey disruptions, Transportation Division has gave the impression to be taking the view that many cancellations and delays are throughout the airways’ management, pressuring carriers to cowl passengers’ prices.
“We have reminded the airlines of their responsibilities to take care of passengers if they experience major delays,” Buttigieg mentioned earlier this yr, when a widespread know-how outage additionally canceled hundreds of flights in July.
And final yr, the Transportation Division fined Southwest $35 million as a part of a $140 million settlement to resolve an investigation into practically 17,000 canceled flights in December 2022.
The division maintains a “dashboard” exhibiting what every airline guarantees to cowl throughout journey disruptions.
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Koenig reported from Dallas.
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